Tennessee Governor Proposes $140M for School Security, No Gun Reform Included

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has proposed a budget of $140m to increase armed security at public schools and provide for school security upgrades at public and private schools. However, he has not committed to supporting gun access reform this year. The budget proposal includes $30m to expand a Homeland Security network to monitor school threats, $20m for public school security upgrades, $7m for private school security upgrades, and $8m for additional school-based behavioral health liaisons across the state. House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons criticized the proposal, noting Lee has yet to "utter the word gun" in his response to the school shooting.